Tournaments - Early stage vs late stage

[steinib00y]

Hi everyone

What is the strategy of play in the early stage vs late stage in your mind?

In the early stage I find so many playing funky hands and therefore losing fairly share of their stack due to a bad flop or being raised. However, in the latter stage people tend to play much tighter.

 

[pokerdebit]

I usually play early stage and play a lot of hands because of small blinds
Late stage, you have to play tighter there because of the blinds

 

[mt2lhd]

Hi everyone

What is the strategy of play in the early stage vs late stage in your mind?

In the early stage I find so many playing funky hands and therefore losing fairly share of their stack due to a bad flop or being raised. However, in the latter stage people tend to play much tighter.

In a normal $5 MMT I'll play this way: early stages you should do a lot of 3 or 4 with your nutz betting for making bigger pots,
Late stages depends on my stack amount if i'm playing on a deep stack i'll be more loose and i do attemps for stealing blinds and antes, or if you are playing on a short stack you should wait for a hand that worth jaaming with,

But most important thing is which kind of players are playing against you and how good is your stack compared to them, you should choose your strategy and game style by thinking of many variables

 

[BenSprocket]

I usually play early stage and play a lot of hands because of small blinds
Late stage, you have to play tighter there because of the blinds

This advice is so wrong, it's almost laughable.

 

[volare85]

in earlier stages not that presure like in late and you can play for more risk in late is harder to stay in the game and you can lose more than in earlier stage

 

[pokerdebit]

This advice is so wrong, it's almost laughable.

What would you do then?
I am curious..

 

[BenSprocket]

What would you do then?
I am curious..

As your number of big blinds shortens, your shove range widens.

 

[tauri103]

I confirm, at the start of the game I play wider and I play a lot of hands. especially when the blinds are not very expensive. on the other hand at the end of the game I tighten my game as much as possible and I don't hesitate to fold and not to call too much bet from my opponents.

 

[kubistok]

In a normal $5 MMT I'll play this way: early stages you should do a lot of 3 or 4 with your nutz betting for making bigger pots,
Late stages depends on my stack amount if i'm playing on a deep stack i'll be more loose and i do attemps for stealing blinds and antes, or if you are playing on a short stack you should wait for a hand that worth jaaming with,

But most important thing is which kind of players are playing against you and how good is your stack compared to them, you should choose your strategy and game style by thinking of many variables

I tend to play very much like you.

 

[xmuggpokerx]

Early stage I like to win, late stage I also like to win. My strategy....

 

[natelearnspoker]

Early vs. Late Stage Play

Early-stage where everyone has similarly-sized stacks, it's best to play really tight and pick off players who shove with garbage hands like suited gappers. Chips early on are your lifeblood and your stack size early on has massive implications for your chances at making final table. When I play massive MTTs, I only call all-ins when I have QQ+ or AJs+ during these early stages.

Once I have a sizable chip lead, I play looser with more hands to try to connect with the flop and make nut hands. This means I'll play with suited connectors and steal the blinds with garbage hands by raising.

In the late stage, I start to play more strategically (think game theory optimal). I'll play looser in general once again and won't hesitate to shove on the flop if I connect with top trips. If you're small stack at the final table, you'll have to shove fairly frequently as the blinds are pretty big at this point. Good luck and for me, this strategy has resulted in a handful of wins and several final tables in massive tournaments.

 

[Gaby2014444]

Micro stakes

In the early stages of a micro tournament, you'll find many players shoving with the only intention of building a stack. These players go all in with basically any hand so I try to exploit that. Additionally, once the late reg period ends, I tend to see this happen again with people hoping to squeak into the money shortly thereafter. When I run deep, I tend to play a lot wider as the blinds increase like many of the other players mentioned here.

 

[blackclover]

In an early stage you need to build your stack, be more aggressive, after building your stack you must play tight up to the last stage.

 

[royalburrito24]

As your number of big blinds shortens, your shove range widens.

But the question has nothing to do with your shoving range. Yes, your shoving range should widen as your # of big blinds decrease, but that doesn't mean your entire range widens. Your calling range to an opening bet should narrow as your stack decreases, as you are risking a significantly larger portion of your stack. Hands like small pairs and suited connectors go out the window if the action is raised ahead of you, unless of course you are willing to 3-bet (all in perhaps) with those hands.

If you start a tournament with 100-300 big blinds, you can surely widen your opening or calling range a bit, almost as if you were in a cash game. For example, finding spots to call opening bets in late position with suited connectors and small pairs is a great early tournament strategy. Your implied odds are through the roof, as you can hit a set or a strong made hand and stack off for 100bb+. If you miss, you can still win the hand by exploiting villain's playing style, or better yet just get out of the way and wait for a better spot.

I play a generally loose and aggressive style of poker in tournaments. No matter my stack size, my goal is to attack the blinds when the action is folded to me (obviously not with any 2 cards, but depending on my position and the playing styles left to act behind me I will act accordingly). Depending on my stack size, there are different tools at my disposal for attacking the blinds.

 

[max82nik]

This advice is so wrong as to be almost ridiculous.

Why? Explain...

 

[max82nik]

But the question has nothing to do with your push range. Yes, your push range should expand as the number of big blinds decreases, but that doesn't mean your entire range is expanding. Your open bet call range should narrow as your stack decreases, as you risk a significantly larger part of your stack. Hands like small pairs and matching connectors are out of the game if you're raised in front of you, unless you're ready to 3-bet (possibly all-in) with those hands.

If you start a tournament with 100-300 big blinds, you can certainly expand your open raise or call range a little bit, almost like in a cash game. For example, finding late opening points with suited connectors and small pairs is a great strategy for an early tournament. Your estimated odds are off the charts, as you can put together a set or a strong hand and increase your stack to 100 bb+. If you miss, you can still win the hand using your opponent's style of play, or better yet, just walk off the road and wait for a better seat.

At tournaments, I usually play a loose and aggressive style of poker. Regardless of the size of my stack, my goal is to attack the blinds when the cards are discarded (obviously not with any two cards, but depending on my position and my playing style, I will act accordingly). Depending on the size of my stack, I have different tools at my disposal to attack the blinds.

Can I raise with absolutely any card? Isn't it dangerous?

 

[mariale_1990]

They don't always play tight in the last stage, I think it depends on the tournament and the structure, if it's a tournament with fast blinds you'll see tables where you play a lot and aggressive due to the pressure to get chips fast, but in longer tournaments yes, the The last stage is more complicated, many play with extreme care, but I have seen cases where it does not matter if it is a slow tournament, I still think there are moments of madness, it will not always be the same in all tournaments

 

[Gallarado777]

at the early stages, I play more good hands in late positions, I don't play these hands anymore because entering the flop will already cost a lot so I only play strong hands

 

[Captainine9]

Its not black on white, it depends your yours and your opponent's stacks, mostly

 

[black and]

Hi everyone

What is the strategy of play in the early stage vs late stage in your mind?

In the early stage I find so many playing funky hands and therefore losing fairly share of their stack due to a bad flop or being raised. However, in the latter stage people tend to play much tighter.

In the early stages of a tournament, I play a wider range of starting hands. In the later stages, I play a smaller range and take less risk. This is essentially the whole difference.

 

[W33dzLov3r]

Hello everyone, I`m highly curious how y`all DEAL with Emotions when playing Big Tournaments because I tend to feel lots of pressure regardless if its early-stage or late-stage every bet is like climbing the freaking Everest or Die trying 🤣😂